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Ethanol-based fuel seen causing health problems

Emissions from vehicles running E85, or 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, are just as harmful to humans as those from vehicles that run on regular gasoline, according to leftlanenews.com which cites a new study directed by Stanford Associate Professor Mark Jacobson at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Jacobson argues that switching to E85 could result in higher ozone-related mortality, hospitalization and asthma because it could cause the ozone problem in urban areas to worsen.

Posted by   at 10:52 AM to Alternative fuels , Environment | Permalink | Comments 0

Two supercars that are beyond gorgeous and your wallet

Vote on two super, way-beyond-drop-dead gorgeous.cars that nobody's ever heard of - the Koenigsegg CCR and Spyker C8 Double 12 S - on Forbes.com.
The 806 hp Koenigsegg from Sweden gets 0-to-60 mph in 3.2 seconds and costs about $540,000; the 400 hp Spyker from the Netherlands gets 0-to-60 mph in under 4.5 seconds and costs about $325,000.

Posted by   at 10:34 AM to Design | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices ease on futures markets

Oil prices fell in early trading in Europe today despite expectations that weekly U.S. petroleum inventory figures will show the 10th straight weekly decline in U.S. gasoline stocks, with traders focusing instead on the likelihood that they will also reveal an increase in crude supplies. Increasing U.S. refinery restarts also eased upward pressure on prices, according to the Associated Press.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 37 cents to $62.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange by afternoon in Europe. Brent crude for June was down 52 cents at $65.41 on London's ICE futures market.
Gasoline futures slipped 0.01 cents to $2.05 a gallon.

Posted by   at 10:31 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

Nissan to sell diesel Maxima in 2010

Nissan plans to sell a diesel-powered Maxima sedan in the USA in 2010, Nissan Motor CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington Wednesday, according to USA Today.
Ghosn said the diesel vehicle is "basically a bet that regulations will get stricter and fuel prices will get higher." He said the diesel-powered Maxima should get "up to 30% greater" mileage than a similar-size gasoline engine. And because it burns less fuel, it will produce less carbon-dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Nissan is the second Japanese automaker to announce a diesel car for the U.S. market. Honda said last year that it will sell a diesel car in the U.S. in 2009.

Posted by   at 10:26 AM to Alternative fuels , Companies , Environment | Permalink | Comments 0